


The New Paladins of Voltron

by frickingnerd



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Paladins, Season 6 Spoilers, Voltron
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-05 09:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15168005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frickingnerd/pseuds/frickingnerd
Summary: Set in an alternative universe after Season 6 of Voltron: Legendary Defenders, the 5 paladins of Voltron have been lost, leaving Shiro without his team and without Voltron. But it'll take a lot more to defeat the Defenders of the Universe.





	1. The Disappearance

It had all happened too fast for Shiro to comprehend.

They were supposed to be going back to Earth. They were supposed to be going  _home._ This was supposed to be just a pit stop, visiting a rebel base to find Matt Holt. Keith had told Matt the whole story while Pidge prepared a rebel ship so that the non-paladins didn't have to ride in the lions anymore. Poor Romelle hadn't exactly been in too many robotic lions, so even Allura's piloting was too much for her. But they were fine. They should have been fine.

It played over in his head, one time after another.

They were about to go, about to leave the docking bay, the lions all fired up. Coran safely piloting the dark green vessel that the rebels had lent to him. Shiro was preparing for some rest. He'd been needing it a lot more, but there was a lot of relief in him. He was safe, and alive. No more robotic arms, nor being any kind of leader. Keith was growing up so much - a lot different from the little brother he'd raised. There was still tension between them - something that clone of his did that nobody dared tell him - but they were going back to earth, going back to  _earth._ That kept pounding in his head. They were so close.

And then Lance screamed.

Shiro was quick to run to the communications dock. Coran and Krolia were already asking him if he was okay, what was going on. But when they pulled up the screen, there was no sign of Lance. Just purple smoke in his lion's empty seat.

Allura had tried to leave her lion, but as soon as she was in sight she disappeared, as if swallowed up by the mist that took her place. Hunk was next, barely able to stand up to help before vanishing. Pidge was screaming for help, realizing what was coming for her - but then she was gone. They'd opened the doors to the ship, raced to the black lion, tried to reach Keith, only to find him gone. He hadn't even made a sound, too busy trying to help his team.

And now they were here. Confused, lost, something. How were they supposed to leave the rebel base when the lions were stuck, shielding without their paladins. It hadn't even been a few hours but with all of the insanity of fear and loss it felt like years. Was this how his team felt when he'd disappeared in his lion? Were they dead, too?

But this was no astral plane. This was magic. Coran knew the Altean sorcery as soon as he investigated that dark smog.

They'd been sitting in silence out on the docking bay. Not even in the ship - simply on the ground by the docking bay. Matt hadn't looked up for a very long time. There was some fury surrounding him, but all he'd been able to do was cry. Romelle was blank, constantly looking to Coran and Shiro for guidance. Krolia had been the calmest, not panicking or getting angry, likely because of her Galra training. But even she couldn't hide the shaking of her hands from Shiro's sight. Coran couldn't stop moving, mouthing soundless words or wringing his hands or tapping his feet. These were the people they'd cared about, relied on. How could they just be gone?

It was Shiro who had to talk.

"What do we do?"

Only Romelle looked at him when he asked that question. "What are we supposed to do?" She asked, speaking so softly that Shiro had to strain to see her. "The paladins are gone. They are supposed to be-"

She cut herself off, looking away. Almost ashamed of herself for thinking something so silly.

"There's still a Galra threat." Shiro continued, his hands slowly making fists. "There's still the witch, and Lotor's generals, and who knows about Lotor himself. We need to bring the truth to earth, and we can't just let-"

"Can't we mourn?"

Matt cut him off, still not looking up from the floor. His voice was sharp and tight, clearly furious but unable to keep himself angry at Shiro for long. He wasn't angry at Shiro, after all.

"Do we have to do anything right now?" Matt continued, when Shiro didn't give him an answer. "Do we have to be the 'defenders of-' of the universe or whatever? We don't  _know_ what to do, Shiro. I'm sorry that we're- we're just not ready to jump up and do anything right now. They're dead."

"They're not dead. We don't know where they are, but there is no way they're dead." Shiro interjected.

Matt scoffed. "If they're not dead yet, then it's only a matter of time. Unless you think the 'Altean magic' came from someone besides the witch, who tortured and cloned you. Remember that?"

"Stop!" Romelle was still speaking quietly, but her outcry was enough to keep both Shiro and Matt from going any further. "We cannot argue right now- now more than ever we cannot be angry at each other. We need to save the paladins."

"How are we supposed to do anything without Voltron?" Coran asked softly, pulling at his sleeves.

Shiro looked at Romelle, then Matt, then up at the black lion. He didn't want to say this - he couldn't do this - but what else was he supposed to do?

"If this was anything else, we would wait. We'd make a plan and be as cautious as possible. But this time we can't risk hesitation. Five of us, five lions. I can pilot the black lion." He stated, pulling himself to his feet. "We save the paladins and return them to their lions. The witch won't kill them - I wouldn't be here if she was a murderer. We just have to get to them before anything bad can happen."

He received only blank stares, but at least blank stares were better than no stares at all. Shiro was already seeing some skepticism from Coran and Krolia, but there had to be something he could do. "Matt, you've seen Pidge in the green lion. Krolia or Coran could take a lion - and Romelle, maybe you could take the blue lion in Allura's place."

"I don't know, Shiro." Coran said. "If I could pilot a lion, I would have been doing that this whole time. They just don't accept me."

Krolia nodded. "The blue lion was waiting for a different pilot when I first found it. It's not about to change its mind now." 

Matt pulled himself up slowly, as if he was weighted down and unable to force himself to stand, and turned to the green lion. "Shiro, you're not completely crazy, that's for sure. We need to find Katie. We need to find the paladins."

"So you could try to pilot the green lion?" Shiro asked.

"For Katie?" Matt asked. "Anything."

Romelle grabbed a hand from Shiro and pulled herself up too. "I got sick in a lion - do you think I could pilot one?"

"If Hunk could, you can." Shiro insisted. "Determination is a good helping hand."

Romelle sucked in her breath. "With Voltron, we could find them. Voltron can do anything." She said, almost to herself instead of the team. "But you're right - we have to move fast. And if we have to, we need to find new paladins."

Shiro nodded, but the words "new paladins" sounded almost hollow to him. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea-

Romelle had turned to look at the blue lion. "There's the rebels, and all the alien planets you've liberated. One of them  _has_ to have someone of paladin material if we aren't right. The one that Hunk keeps mentioning, Shay, or that rebel leader that almost stole the blue lion, Rolo, or-" she laughed, a little wildly. "Me. Who cares? If we're ever going to make things right in the universe, we can't just sit around and  _mourn._ We have to do something!"

Matt gave Shiro a look, something that looked a mix of the pre-existing anger and a bit of a 'this is going to fail even harder than the Kerberos mission' smugness. If Pidge wasn't on the line, something told Shiro that Matt would have already been out of this plan.

But before Matt could call it off and go on his own solo mission to save his sister, Romelle turned back to Shiro with an almost unpredictable gleam in her eye. "So how do we find that Galra witch and make her pay?" Romelle asked.

With those words, the rumble of a lion echoed across the docking bay, making every single one of them jump. Shiro turned to the black lion, but it was still sitting quietly behind him. His second instinct was the blue lion, but nothing had made her move, either. So what-

Krolia figured it out first. "Looks like you have your first paladin, Shiro." She said wryly, looking towards the lion directly behind Romelle.

And she was right. Because the red lion's shield was coming down behind her. Romelle whipped around, seeing everyone else looking behind her, and froze in her tracks as the red lion lowered its head and opened up right in front of her.

There was no time to worry anymore. There was only time for action. It was time to reform Voltron.


	2. The Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The race to find the paladins of Voltron is on, and Shiro and Romelle have to find anyone who can pilot the lions before it's too late.

But after Romelle's success, things got a little more difficult.

Coran and Krolia both tried to connect to the lions. Nothing worked. But that was something they'd already predicted. But it got worse - the green lion and Matt were another story.

Matt wasn't exactly taking it slow. The first time he tried to fly the green lion, he couldn't even pass the forcefield. Furious, he stormed off before Shiro could catch him. But it didn't end there. Matt tried the blue lion, the yellow lion, heck, even the red lion, and got nothing. And then the green lion again. And again. And again. Every ten minutes Matt would head out, try the controls, get furious, then storm off. Rinse and repeat.

Shiro couldn't do much. He was too busy with Romelle. Romelle had to have some help. Shiro knew all too well from the stories of Keith and Lance - the red lion was not just hard to control, it was hard to do anything with. Fast and temperamental, it wasn't the best for someone who was overly determined and not overly prepared when it came to motion sickness. Shiro was trying his best to give her advice, but there was only so much he could do on his own - it all came down to Romelle's connection with her lion. That was something she had to figure out herself.

As Shiro watched the red lion bound in circles around the landing deck (as it was some of the only space they had), trying to take off, he spotted something very out of the norm. Someone in rebel attire, face covered, sneaking off towards the green lion. Instinctively, he started towards the lion, ready to investigate whatever this was, but then another realization struck him in his tracks - the lion's forcefield was falling before the hooded rebel had even touched it. The rebel grabbed the jaw of the lion and wrenched it down (as the mechanical beast had been frozen while preparing to drops its endangered former paladin) and hopped in, a large bag clanking at her side. Shiro left Romelle to jump around and followed the rebel into the green lion.

Inside, the figure removed her mask and hood and grabbed a large mechanical piece from her bag. As she started pressing buttons and clicking on the parts she'd already modified, she was frozen by the sound of footsteps behind her. Just before he saw her, the rebel threw her cloak over the control board in front of her, hiding her work, and turned.

That black paladin was standing right in front of her - no, she wasn't ready yet!

"You brought down the forcefield." He said, not even acknowledging her.

Nyma shrugged. "It took a while."

Shiro put his hand up against the lion's hull noticing it still unlit. "Can you... pilot the green lion?" He asked gently.

"Ah..." Nyma looked back, seeing her cloak already slipping off the board. "I've felt... connections before. Back when we had... er, you know, when we stole the blue lion. I felt something there - I knew I was destined to be a paladin, but the blue lion wouldn't open for me. The green lion, however..."

"You don't understand - we need you, we need this!" Shiro exclaimed. "We need to save the other paladins. You can help us!"

Nyma put her hand back to hold the cloak in place, but even in her fear she couldn't help but smile. "I... I could?"

Shiro nodded. "But can you fly it?"

"That's the thing." Nyma admitted. "The green lion hasn't given me control yet. I think I just need to gain it's trust. It might take a while, yes, but I know I can do this. I can help you."

"So that's why you joined the rebels." Shiro reasoned.

"Well, that and the inspiration stuff. Voltron is so amazing - technologically and powerfully and in everything else." Nyma said, gazing at the roof of the lion's head. "Your paladins were good to us, even when we... stole your lion, you know? And I wanted to be like that too. So the connection just helped."

Shiro put a hand on her shoulder. "Nyma, you're a lifesaver. I know you can do this. Connection to a lion is hard - I know that well - and while nobody's struggled to even pilot a lion before... sorry, that sounds rude - I mean..."

"No, I get it." Nyma nodded. "I'll figure it out."

Shiro looked around one last time, not even noticing the cloak clinging onto a handle nearby. "Do you want... help of any kind?"

"No!" Nyma stood, obscuring the view of the control board. "No, you need to help the little Altean girl. Clearly she needs it. This is something the green lion and I have to do ourselves. But thank you."

Shiro nodded. "Then... good luck, Nyma."

As Shiro left the green lion, Romelle and Red suddenly shot upwards, propelled by the red lion's feet. It complete insanity - Romelle screaming and throwing the legs everywhere and the red lion crashing into the ground about two seconds later, but as Romelle emerged, she had a smile so huge it made up for any damage.

"I made her fly, Shiro!" She yelled, her arms waving wildly.

Shiro gave her a thumbs up, and Romelle whooped and fell back onto the lion's giant maw. Shiro couldn't help but think of how much that hurt - but Romelle didn't seem to care. She climbed her way back into the red lion and soon it was up and bounding again, flying up for a few seconds with gradually more control. All the while the green lion sat still, Nyma still hard at work doing... whatever she was doing.

A tap on Shiro's shoulder interrupted his thought. Turning, he saw Matt - but instead of rage or reckless determination, Matt was looking as calm as ever - a calm Shiro didn't trust for a minute.

"Krolia says to come - it's them." Matt said softly, looking sideways at the red lion still gallivanting without a care. "She's certainly reckless. Keith would be proud-" Matt shook his head before he could say anything else, almost frantically. "Just don't bring her."

Shiro gave the red lion one last look, then joined Matt in running towards the rebel base.

Inside, stashed away in one of the communications rooms, were Krolia and Coran. Both were staring at the door, anticipating an entry. Before Shiro even had time to ask what was wrong, Krolia had pressed a button and stumbled back to stand by Shiro and Matt.

As it turned out, no explanation was needed.

The video was of a darkened room, barely visible if not for a distant glow that looked eerily like the glow of quintessence. What was visible was the princess, writhing in pain against restraints that Shiro knew all too well. She was struggling, but whatever was being used against her was so bad that she didn't seem able to scream. Coran, who had stepped back next to Shiro, put a hand on the black paladin's shoulder and gripped so tightly that Shiro could feel his circulation being cut off.

Allura's pain was from an unknown cause, but Shiro had plenty of things that could fill in the blanks - and none of them that he wanted to think about. But whatever the cause was, there was no question who was making it happen - especially when her hissing voice made it into the transmission.

"Bring the lions and the generals." Haggar wasn't able to be seen, but all four of the room's occupants knew her voice from the first word she spoke. "To the galran capitol. Or expect it to get worse."

The transmission began to glitch and fade out, but right before they lost all vision of Allura, a shriek pierced through. The scream of a girl, but not the princess. It was too young.

"Katie!" Matt screamed, running forward and grabbing at the control panel as if it would do something. The transmission clicked, and in an instant their only connection to the paladins was gone.

The room was hauntingly silent - much like they'd been just hours before.


	3. Desperate Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With time running out for the paladins, Shiro separates the team he has in search of any other person who can pilot the lione.

Shiro wouldn't talk about the message they'd received. He continued on with their plan, as if there wasn't another way to save the paladins. As if there wasn't anything else they could do. But Matt knew there was no arguing with him.

That, of course, left some flaws. They still didn't have any way to get the blue or yellow lions in the air. They didn't have anyone who'd even established a connection with the lions besides a one-off theory. They had a deadline they couldn't reach. There was nothing they could do.

But as Matt and Krolia discussed, it wasn't even as simple as that.

"She mentioned the generals. She had to be talking about Lotor's generals, didn't she?" Matt muttered, pacing back and forth in the communications room. Both had agreed to stand watch in case of another transmission from  _anyone,_ in hopes of some good news. So far there was nothing but cries for help that they couldn't do anything about. The rebellious galra were without a leader in any way and their plans for conquest were still going strong, even without anything to fight for. 

Krolia just shook her head. "She could have been talking about a number of things. But I thought we were under the impression that Lotor's former generals and Haggar were... working together."

"Apparently not." Matt sighed. "But even if we weren't meaning to plan an impossible rescue-"

Matt stopped in his tracks and looked at the doorway. No sign of Shiro or Romelle or Coran. Thank goodness. He kept talking.

"Even if we were going to let Haggar win, we have no way to find the generals. Hell, we have no idea who any of them are. All we've seen of them is when they had my dad, and even then their faces were covered."

Krolia looked up at Matt with tired eyes. "Who knows?"

Matt shook his head. "We can't please the witch. We'll never be able to let her win. Shiro and his insane plans are somehow our only option, because without him and the lions..." Matt huffed, stamping his foot. "I hate this. I hate this so much. If only one of those lions would just... just... just let me use it once. Don't they know how much I need help? Can't they... They're robotic lions. They can't  _know_ anything."

The door opened and in came Shiro, looking purely exhausted (as per the usual). He patted Matt on the back and went up to the control panel.

"Any luck?" Krolia asked as Shiro began pressing buttons.

Shiro shrugged, not looking up at either of them. "Romelle's learning to fly, except she's puked again. But fortunately, she's not afraid. She can stay in the air for almost a minute before she crashes."

"She needs to be able to do more." Matt muttered.

"She's learning, Matt." Shiro replied, still not looking back at either of them. "She's not necessarily paladin material, not to mention that the red lion's not an easy lion to fly. Besides, she's had barely a day to try. You should've seen Hunk and Lance the first times they flew their lions-"

"What are you doing?" Krolia asked.

Shiro finally stopped typing and turned back, a hint of a smile crossing his face. "I've got a plan."

Krolia and Matt looked at each other worriedly, then back at the black paladin.

"See, besides Rolo and Nyma, nobody's necessarily been close to the lions besides us. We have to protect them, after all. But there's someone Romelle mentioned earlier, someone I completely forgot until now." Shiro pressed one final button, and the communications that he'd been pulling up came to life. "The Balmerans."

Up on the screen, the communications device that had been planted on the Balmera buzzed to life, with the person answering being none other than... some rock person. Matt had no idea who this was - but clearly Shiro did. Then again, Matt and Krolia had never met the Balmerans.

"Rax!" Shiro began talking. "Look, I can't divulge everything in this moment but I need you to know - we need the help of the Balmera and its people."

Rax nodded. "Of course. What is it that you need of us?"

"I need to see if your sister have a connection with the lions." Shiro was sounding a little strained, but his vague smile was still there. 

"Connection with- but why?" Rax asked, turning back to the milling Balmerans behind him. "Do you not have 5 paladins? What has happened to the one who came here?"

"Hunk is..." Shiro hesitated. "Out of the picture. But I believe that his connection to the Balmera might give Shay hope with his lion."

Rax shook his head. "We are here to help Voltron, but it is just-"

"Look, whatever it is, I'm sending someone to try." Shiro said. "Please, just... trust me."

Rax nodded solemnly, but he didn't seem very trusting. "Send your people. We wish you luck."

The transmission faded off, and Shiro turned back to Matt.

"Oh no." Matt knew that look on Shiro's face. It was his 'please' face. Back at the Garrison, it was used to send Matt for food and to get him to share when he was upset. Recently, it'd been more of a 'I need your smart brain' face. And now... it was not something he wanted to see. Matt put his hands up, as if this was something he could hold back. "No. I'm waiting here with the lions for news of my sister. I refuse to go running off on some wild goosechase for some rock alien-"

"Matt, you need to. I can't leave the black lion or Romelle and Nyma. Please." Shiro was doing that  _thing_ where he looked  _sympathetic_ and  _sweet_ _._

Matt wasn't about to let himself be wavered. "I. Can't. Leave."

Shiro huffed. "You can leave. You want to save your sister? Here's how - we see if Shay's connection with the yellow lion exists, or we scour the stinking universe to find anyone to help us. We can't stop the witch and her galran forces without Voltron, it's just fact."

"Shiro-"

The innocent 'please' face was gone. Now Shiro was mad. "My brother - Keith, he's gone. Do you think I'm not devastated by the fact that I lost him? That I put him in this position and now he's suffering because of me? Do you think Krolia doesn't want to see her son alive, after missing him for all of her life? What about Coran and Romelle - the only chance for Altea is stuck with a witch, suffering and in pain. She does things - hell, the reason I've been doing all of this with a lifeless prosthetic arm is because of that witch!"

Wearing his gear, it was hard to see where Shiro had once lost his arm, but Matt still winced at the mention of it.

"So excuse me for being desperate." Shiro snapped. "But you're going to load up a pod with the lion and you're going to do anything to save them. I want to save Pidge too. And to do that, we have to try  _anything._ "

Matt had no response, and when he did, Shiro's face calmed a little.

"I can load the pod." Krolia stood, attempting to break the tension. "Shiro, you go back to your work. I'll get Matt to the Balmera as soon as possible. You're luck we're on the right side of the galaxy to reach it."

Shiro nodded, and with that he was out of the room once again.

~

It only took an earth day to reach the Balmera with the advancements of the rebel pod. Even then, it wasn't fast enough.

Matt couldn't help but think of how much easier it would have been to have the Castle of Lion. One wormhole and he'd be able to try out this crackpot theory in moments. But now it was nothing but time he couldn't help Katie. Time he couldn't hear news about her. Time his sister was spent in pain.

But he was at the Balmera now, with the yellow lion alongside him, still surrounded by its yellow forcefield. And he was desperate - desperate enough to do what Shiro needed.

Four Balmerans met him on the surface of their strange planet as his pod descended. One was the one from the message, Rax, but the others he didn't recognize. It wasn't like Rax helped with that.

Once he was out, Rax greeted him. "You must be the messenger of Voltron." He said, looking back into the pod as if he expected someone else to come out. "And you have come to us for help."

"Yes." Matt turned back to the ship as well. "The yellow lion... needs a paladin. Shiro believes that your sister might be able to fly it."

"And what of Hunk?" One of the Balmerans with Rax stepped forward. This must be Shay, Matt decided.

Matt hadn't put any thought into that. "The thing is... we don't know."

Shay looked distressed. "He is lost? But how is that possible?"

"He was taken by the Galran witch, Haggar." Matt explained, regretful the second he admitted it. "But you had a connection with Hunk, so Shiro believes you might have a connection with his lion."

Shay's brow creased (could rocks crease?) and she brought her hands up against her chest. "Is he in trouble?" She asked nervousness creeping into her voice. "Are the other paladins not working to save him?"

"They... they are." Matt said. "Please, we can't waste much time."

"Then I will try to fly your lion." Shay said, determination taking over her fear. "Rax, you must stay. I want to do this alone."

Rax nodded, and he and the other Balmerans stepped back, headed towards the caves scattered around the planet. Before they disappeared, Rax looked back at his sister.

"Keep safe, Shay." He said, and in an instant he was gone.

Shay seemed to smile at this, despite her worry. "What is your name, Voltron messenger?" She asked, turning to him. Her arms remained clasped against her chest.

"My name is Matt Holt. My sister is a paladin of Voltron." That was hard to say - but Shay didn't seem to notice his tension at the mention of Pidge.

"I thank you for coming. Hunk has helped me and my people tremendously, as has all of Voltron." Shay said, starting forwards towards the pod. "I will do anything to return that favor."

Shay was remarkably taller than Matt, and it took a quick stride to keep up with her. "Shay, do you think you'll be able to pilot a lion?" Matt asked.

"I do not know." Shay admitted, a little sad. "But I will do anything for Hunk. Surely that must mean something."

Inside the pod, the yellow glow of the lion was the only light. The entire bay was being taken up by the mechanical beast, with the only other thing occupying it being the driver's seat that Matt had just sat in.

"And what if you can't fly the yellow lion?" Matt asked. "Then what do you plan to do?"

"Who knows?" Shay asked softly, the yellow light of the lion illuminating her face. "Right now, all I can do is try."

Matt stopped at the doors, letting the pod's entrance close behind them as Shay slowly but surely approached the lion. There was no indication why she was being slow - fear? Patience? Or just a calmness? Not that it mattered, since with her height and wide stance Shay was soon to the forcefield, hand floating over it but not touching. She seemed utterly mesmerized.

"Do you feel anything?" Matt called out.

Shay nodded, her hand lowering down onto the forcefield. In an instant the yellow protection surrounding the lion was gone, leaving the mechanical beast open to Shay.

"Impossible." Matt whispered.

Shay turned back to Matt as the yellow lion came back to life before her, standing in the cramped space of the pod and leaning forward, opening to reveal where Shay should enter. She radiated yellow light. "Perhaps there is hope for me after all." She said back.

Perhaps there was hope for Shiro's plan after all, Matt thought. Perhaps there was hope for his sister.


	4. Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With mere hours before Shiro and his new team take off to save the paladins, the black paladin is desperate for anyone to pilot the blue lion. But that might not be his only problem anymore.

So now Shiro had his yellow paladin. So now they just needed one more, one more paladin replacement.

But as Shiro supervised the green, yellow, and red lion, flying in formation, learning to fly, he couldn't help but notice Matt's last ditch attempt to get to the blue lion. Starting soft, but then banging on the forcefield, and finally collapsing, body heaving with sobs. The blue lion, usually playful, stayed unmoving above him.

Romelle had learned so much - sure, she hadn't controlled her temper, but she could control her stomach, and now she could fly circles around the other two. Shay was also a natural, but perhaps that was just the caring nature of the yellow lion. Nyma and the green lion were clunky and prone to crash, but perhaps that was to be expected. Not everything could be easy.

Shiro had flown the black lion once. It was fine.

Shiro couldn't stand this anymore. Matt was kicking uselessly at the forcefield, continuing to try to get it open but without much hope. He wasn't showing his face - but that meant it must have been shoved in the dirt that covered the docking bay. Would he be able to get Matt off the ground? Shiro doubted it. But he was convinced that Matt could fly a lion - and if he couldn't, who could? Shiro had nobody else at this point.

He was just steps away from Matt when he finally stopped and started talking.

"Matt?" He asked, keeping his voice down (for no apparent reason). Matt gave him nothing but a slightly harder kick to the forcefield. Shiro sighed and kept talking. "You can't just lay there all day. I need your help."

"Help for what?" Matt's voice was muffled - likely by dirt - but he sounded as angry as ever.

Shiro shrugged. "Helping Krolia with communications, see if anyone's seen any of the paladins besides Allura or any news of Haggar. Helping Coran gather forces to back up Voltron. Helping me, since we need to get to the Galran capitol soon and we're literally leaving in a few hours. Helping yourself."

"I'm no help to anyone." Matt hissed, still not moving except for the occasional kick. Thump. Thump. Thump.

"I just gave you a list in ways you could be helpful." Shiro reminded him.

Matt huffed, and a cloud of dirt came flying out of a hole between in his arms. "I can't fly the lion - I can't even get it to open the stupid forcefield."

"Matt." Shiro was trying his hardest to be patient, but that hadn't been a strong suit of his recently. "Are you helping Pidge by laying on the ground and kicking the forcefield?"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Matt." Shiro repeated.

Matt exploded upwards, his face covered in soot and soil. "Go away!" He screamed, his voice straining. The tears dripping down his face left lines in the dirt.

Okay, then. "I know." Shiro said, going down on one knee. "I know, it's hard right now."

"You have no idea!" Matt screamed back. "It's not your sister! She's in trouble and I can't do anything! And that's another thing - you can do things, you can change things, you can help her, you can fly that damn lion! Even the stupid alien could fly the yellow lion because she wanted to help Hunk. I'm doing everything, I'm trying everything. I need to be able to do this - but the stupid!" With every word, Matt kicked back at the forcefield. "Blue!" Thump. "Lion!" Thump. "Won't!" Thump. "Move!"

"Maybe it's just not your place-" Shiro began.

"I have to." Matt heaved, cutting off Shiro as if he hadn't heard a word he said. "I have to fly a lion. Katie - she's counting on me to save her. I'm her brother. I'm supposed to protect her - and she's so brave, and she's grown so much, but right now she's in danger and I'm nothing but a burden, nothing but a sobbing mess. Nothing but a pain for you!"

Matt redirected his kicks at Shiro's arm. Shiro's limp, false prosthetic arm. Thump. Thump. Thump. It didn't seem to help with Matt's anger, but it didn't stop, either.

"Matt, I can't help you." Shiro said.

The boy in front of him, his anger slipping away to reveal something different. Something a mix of disappointment and betrayal and complete sadness. Matt opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

"I'm doing everything I can to help the paladins - but I can't forge a bond between you and the blue lion. That's something only you can do - and maybe you won't even be able to do that." Shiro said. "Either way, you have to choose what you think is best."

Shiro stood, and Matt once again opened his mouth, as if to talk. Once again, there was nothing but silence. When he couldn't speak, Matt's mouth closed and he nodded, every part of his body quivering in an attempt to hold back another outburst of tears.

"Shiro!"

And then suddenly Coran was rushing out to him, looking in utter panic. This was off. Coran had been surprisingly calm throughout all of this, especially considering his connection with the princess. So why was he suddenly so worried?

"What is it?" Shiro asked, turning away from Matt.

Coran stopped suddenly, driving his heel into the ground to stop himself. "Someone's landing - a rebel ship we don't have registered to land anytime soon."

"Is anyone scheduled to land in the next day?" Shiro asked.

Coran shook his head.

Coran, Shiro and Matt all looked at the sky. The three soaring lions flew down to land very suddenly - with the green lion taking an especially hard land on its side. Some rebel ship was, in fact, landing, and it was finally within their sight. The rogue ship flew down, almost with ease, and landed in the middle of the lions. As Shiro and Coran stepped closer to it, the door clicked and slid open. Behind him, Shiro heard Matt scream.


	5. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some interesting guests enter the rebel base just as Shiro's plan begins to hit some rough points

Lotor's generals had arrived.

There were 3 of them - one who looked vaguely like a human, with short purple hair and a scowl. The second was huge, hulking, with batlike ears and something between a smirk and glare on her face. The third had an almost gleeful smile, with something sticking out of the back of her head. What that was, none of them had any idea. Shiro couldn't remember getting a good look at their faces, but here they were now, right in front of him.

Behind him, Matt was scrambling to his feet, running a hand across his face to rid it of tears and dust. He pulled a knife from his belt - thankfully he hadn't stabbed himself with that when he was sprawled on the ground earlier - and pushed his way in front of Shiro and Coran.

"Back off!" He yelled, brandishing the knife.

The three generals didn't seem the slightest bit phased. The most Matt got was a raised eyebrow from the third one.

"Heard you guys lost your paladins!" The second called out, breaking the stillness.

Immediately Matt jumped back a foot, and the first hit the second with her arm.

"Now is not the time, Zethrid." The first reprimanded. She turned to look at Shiro, locking eyes with him. "Black paladin, we're here to exchange words."

Two of them looked snide and untrustworthy, but the first of the generals had dropped her scowl and was looking almost... respectful. Shiro wasn't sure what to think yet. "And why should I trust you?" He called back.

"Yeah!" Matt was reaching around his back, trying to find the second knife that was strapped to his belt. "Why should we trust the aliens who kidnapped my dad, blackmailed us into exchanging hostages, and then tricked us in the end? You're just Galra scum, just like the rest of your filthy-"

Oh, they did not like that. Shiro cut Matt off before he could go any further. "What is your intent today?" He asked.

The first nodded coolly. "We know you need help, and we know the witch Haggar's plan. She is not trustworthy. And since their is a bounty on both of our heads... well, we're both enemies of Haggar. Does that not make us allies?"

"Not necessarily." Shiro said, eyes switching from contact with the first to Matt's arm, almost grabbing the knife on his belt. "But we are willing to talk."

"My name is Acxa." The first said, stepping forward. She clearly saw the danger in Matt, too. "You must be the black paladin, the champion."

"Shiro, we can't reason with these people!" Matt was furious, finally reaching and grabbing the knife from his belt. "They're dangerous - they could just as likely be conspiring against us! For all we know-"

Shiro started forward, seeing Matt's arm begin to move.

"They could be working with the  _witch!_ " With that, Matt thrust his arm forward, throwing the knife. Well, trying to throw the knife. Just before the knife could fly from his hand, Shiro pushed Matt's arm up and sent the knife clattering to the side. Matt turned to protest, but Shiro pushed him lightly aside and stuck out his non-prosthetic hand to Acxa.

"Let's talk."

~

Shiro quickly learned that the third general's name was Ezor. There was something up with the way that Acxa treated Exor - something between a ticking time bomb and a secret that she didn't think Shiro should know about. In fact, there was a lot that was odd about Acxa. The sensitivity she had to seeing another Galra - Krolia - take Matt off so there wasn't any tension. Her eerie calmness when it came to talking about the paladin's capture and potential danger. Her violent avoidance of the topic of the ransom of the lions and them. In fact, the only thing that seemed normal about Acxa was her willingness to tell Shiro all the generals knew about Haggar's plan. And there was a lot to say.

"She's not going to uphold her bargain." Acxa stated, as if this should be common knowledge. "Her plan is the lions, Voltron, all of it to return the Galran empire to its 'former glory.' She's delusional. And then comes step two - us."

"She wants a personal group of elite warriors." Ezor jumped in. "You were the first test of that, but looks like she wants the whole set. And you, us, your paladins, we're the ones she wants."

Acxa glared at Ezor, for no obvious reason (at least, for Shiro). "That's right." 

"But why not just take us?" Shiro asked. "She can do it so easily-"

"Wants the lions." Zethrid grunted, picking at her fingernails.

Acxa didn't have the same anger at Zethrid talking. "You're basically chauffeuring them over to her. She can't get us because we know how to evade her magic, but your paladins were easy targets. Haggar just left her champion to bring in the rest."

"So what do we do?" Shiro asked. "How do we get my paladins back?"

Ezor laughed a little at this, earning her another glare from Acxa. Was she not even allowed to talk?

"No idea." Axca admitted. "I don't have much of an intent to save your paladins, and Haggar isn't exactly going to waste her time before she goes to work with them. You know that all too well, black paladin."

"But you said you came to help." Shiro protested.

"She's a threat to us alive." Acxa stated. "No matter where we go, she'll hunt us. I'm here to help you end her threat. Saving your paladins will be an entirely different story."

Shiro sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But she's ready to betray and capture all of us. Going to her would be suicide and evading her would mean danger to my paladins - my team."

"So you fool her." Acxa stated. "She doesn't know we know, and therefor she doesn't know you know. You bring your lions, your makeshift paladins to her, and even us. You're going to pretend you've captured us. She thinks she's gotten everything she wants, but what she doesn't know is that we're working together. We'll take her out with your help."

"But why do you need me? If you three can take her out, then why come to me?" Shiro retaliated. "Why do you need my help?"

Acxa's eyes shifted back to Zethrid and Ezor. Ezor nodded eagerly - Zethrid just kept smirking. Taking in a deep breath, Acxa turned back to Shiro. "Because one of your lions has reached out to us."

"One of - what?" Shiro couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Is one of you connecting to the blue lion?"

"It has to be." Acxa nodded. "It was something of a distress beacon - almost as if the lion knew there was danger and seeked out anyone who could potentially pilot it. It must know about the fate of your paladins."

Shiro couldn't believe this. One of Lotor's generals... a paladin? One that the blue lion reached out to?

"So you're the new paladin of the blue lion." Shiro whispered, looking up at Acxa.

Acxa clenched her hands into fists. "No... Ezor is."

Ezor, clearly so full of energy and excitement that she was hopping up and down, finally spoke her mind. Acxa couldn't hold her back anymore. "We were on our way to the Galran capitol where Haggar had gone and I heard it saying... well, not saying, but I heard it calling out to me. It didn't say anything, but I still knew that the Voltron lion was reaching out to me and... and, well, it must be the blue lion, isn't it? Imagine the power that thing has, the capabilities- I'm so curious as to what it's like I'm about to-"

"You've got to go to it - we've got to go." Shiro said, starting abruptly towards the doors. He turned back to look at Lotor's former generals. "Let's get going to take out the witch before it's too late."

They hurried out of the rebel base and into the docking bay, where Ezor couldn't help but stare in awe at the blue lion. Romelle, Nyma, and Shay had all left their lions and were standing off with Coran, all four of them looking at Shiro with bewildered expression as the former generals just walked right into the space with all five lions. Yes, Shiro knew it was risky, but at this point he had no choice but to trust the three generals. Acxa had not only given him a compelling case as to why Shiro should accept their help, but there was also no way they were working with Haggar at this point since she was trying to capture them as well. He had to have Voltron - he had to save his team. His friends.

Ezor hurried past her fellow generals and raced towards the blue lion. Her excitement was clear - but as she reached the lion and pressed both hands on it, the shield... didn't move. The blue lion didn't even react. Bewildered, Ezor turned back. Shiro was about to turn to Acxa - was this a betrayal, was Ezor just wrong about the lion's call? It was too much to process that even Shiro wasn't sure how to react. But he didn't have to. Because at that moment, he heard Nyma scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so how about those San Diego Comic Con reveals? (I am Very Happy.)


	6. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new realization about the paladin's replacements comes forward.

The green lion was moving of its own accord.

Shiro didn't see it, but by the time he looked over at Nyma, Romelle, and Shay, Nyma had already disappeared into the rebel base. Her scream was short lived, but telling. Acxa nodded at Shiro and took off after Nyma, Zethrid at her heels.

Meanwhile, Ezor was having to deal with the green lion. It was moving almost jerkily, as if there was something very wrong with it. A sick feeling passed over Shiro, making everything feel hot and clammy, but the green lion set its head down next to Ezor, almost cuddling up against her, then opened its jaw to let her in. She looked back, silent and still for the first time. Shiro hurried forward and joined her to enter into the green lion.

Inside, the control panel was covered in modifications. Each piece of metal was slightly rusted, as if it'd been reused from a scrap pile, and a few were even sparking. Shiro wasn't exactly a tech expert, but he knew enough about the lions from his time as a pilot, and everything seemed wrong.

"What happened to it?" Ezor whispered. She'd purposely dropped behind him for when they entered.

"It's..." Shiro tried to figure out a word for it, but nothing was coming.

Behind him, he heard footsteps, and Matt Holt joined them. He seemed to move away from Ezor without realizing it. "Krolia said there was a commotion-"

He turned to look at the green lion and made a movement between a gasp and a gagging motion, as if the sight of this was going to make him throw up. "Did the galra-"

"No." Shiro whispered. "It was Nyma... I think it was Nyma. She was acting so odd and I should have thought, I should have-"

Matt's hands brushed over some of the off-colored tech, examining what looked like a makeshift engine attached to the green lion. "It's been practically rewired. The lion's not responding, it's this stuff on top. It's like she's built a ship inside the lion and forced it to run on her tech, instead of its own. This could cause some serious damage. Rewriting this much of the alien's software, not to mention the delicate Altean tech..."

"Can you fix it?" Shiro asked, desperation creeping into his voice.

"I... I don't know." Matt took hold of something that looked like a homemade control panel, complete with buttons to control flight and attacks. "I don't know if taking this stuff off could make it worse... or if it's even able to come off."

Ezor slipped past Shiro, joining Matt at the control panel. He flinched away at the sight of her, but Ezor didn't seem to care. "Do you think this is why the lion called out for help?" She asked softly. "Because it was hurting? What can I do to help it?"

"Maybe you can do something." Matt asked. "But are you sure it called out to you, are you sure it's not..."

"I wonder... if I could just..." Ezor placed her hands between two pieces of foreign tech and onto the lion's control panel. The lights around them glowed softly, making the entire room around them green-tinted.

Her eyes closed, Ezor began to speak. "The lion knows what's wrong. Matt, open the inside of the control panel and get to the cores that are giving power. Something's connected there that's throwing everything off."

Shocked, Matt looked at Shiro, as if to say  _are we really doing this?_

Shiro nodded.

"Okay." Matt said, reaching down to the small door on the side and opening it. "Okay."

"If you unplug that, it will turn of the system so it can't hurt the lion any further. That'll make removing everything else easier."

Shiro saw Romelle waving wildly from the front screen and decided since Matt didn't seem ready to murder Ezor anytime soon, it was best to see what was going on with the rest of the team... and Nyma.

Leaving the green lion, Shiro saw Zethrid and Acxa reenter the docking bay. Zethrid was holding Nyma aloft, who was thrashing wildly, screaming and hissing about "galra scum." Romelle was keeping her distance, clearly disgusted that she'd been near Nyma just seconds before, and Shay just looked confused.

"Nyma!" Shiro yelled.

His shout made Romelle, Shay, and even Acxa jump. Nyma was silenced, as well, panting and furious. Zethrid, unbothered, dropped her to the ground - but she didn't release her grip on Nyma's arms.

"Nyma," Shiro said again, not as loud but even angrier than before, "what have you done."

Nyma recoiled, pressing her lips together as if she was physically forcing herself to stay quiet. Shiro stared her down, and the two of them had a silent battle with their eye contact. Finally, she broke.

"It wasn't my idea!" She said, half wail, half defense. "It wasn't... totally my idea. I know what I felt - I know I have a connection to these lions. And when none of them would listen, Rolo suggested..." One arm of hers jerked, perhaps an escape attempt, perhaps just a muscle spasm. "I just had to help our connection, that's all. And I knew you'd be angry, but I just... I just knew..."

Shiro stayed deadly silent, staring her down still.

Nyma's legs dropped out from under her, and Zethrid let her fall. "I just... Voltron is - is something. I wanted to help, I wanted to save the universe. I I know I'm not enough, I know I've hurt Voltron and its team in the past. I've done some terrible, terrible things, but now... now I've got you a green lion. I can fly her. I can help you save the paladins."

"No, you can't." Shiro stated, cold.

Nyma's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open just a bit. "But- but I can fly-"

"You might have damaged the green lion permanently." Shiro responded, his voice still flat and furious. "You might have just destroyed our rescue mission, lost us all hope of regaining the paladins of Voltron - hell, maybe we won't be able to form Voltron ever again! I don't care what your intentions were, you've put everyone in danger. I want you off this rebel base and I don't want to see you or Rolo anytime soon. Understood?"

Nyma stared up at him blankly, as if she wasn't able to process what he just said.

"Let's go." Zethrid took Nyma's arm and pulled her to her feet with an odd gentleness. Shiro had expected her to be angry, but she put an arm around Nyma - something between a supportive gesture and an assurance she wouldn't take off again - and led her off.


	7. Matt Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt lets loose his feelings to an unlikely listener.

Matt would never admit it, not in a million years, but the galran girl who could fly the green lion made an excellent partner when it came to removing the damaging tech from Katie's dashboard. What was once Katie's dashboard. Gah, he couldn't think like that.

After the full removal, Matt climbed out and Ezor gave her control a try. It was likely her experience as a pilot and Lotor's general, or maybe the green lion's connection in its cry for help, but unlike Romelle and Shay, Ezor flew like a natural. The green lion seemed undamaged, inside and out. After getting rather angry (and thankfully not at Matt this time) Shiro certainly needed some good news, and this seemed to brighten his spirits.

"We don't have any time to search for a pilot for the blue lion." He announced to his team (but only after having Matt, Coran, Krolia, Acxa, and Zethrid try to pass through blue's forcefield one last time.) "We're going to have to go, and soon. If there's any chance for the paladins, it'll be sooner rather than later. We leave in one hour- varga, for those who use altean time."

This was followed by a good 30 minute - sorry, doboshes - conversation with the three galrans to explain how long that would take. Eventually Shiro had to go rummaging for one of Pidge's devices to display time in a physical sense. That was about when Matt decided to leave. Sometime about seeing Katie's work was too much for him.

The five lions were still waiting, ever patient, in the docking bay. Matt should have been attracted to the green lion, but instead he collapsed next to the blue lion's forcefield, leaning against the side. Thankfully, he wasn't kicking it this time.

"Hi... lions." Matt spoke softly, his hands running up and down the side of his cloak. "I know you're... mechanical lions, but I know you're also kind of alive. You know the paladins more than anything else. You're connected to them."

No answer. Obviously.

"So." Matt continued, hoping that nobody else happened to be in this docking bay at the time. "We're going to save them. One of them is my sister. You know her as Pidge. Maybe you know that - she had to save me at one time, too. She flies the green lion. She's... she's clever, and she's tough and she's brave. She's ambitious and she's funny and she's putting everything, her life and her family and her world, on the line to be in Voltron. And now..."

Matt choked. This again. The tears were already coming, dripping down his face.

"Now she's really in danger. She puts herself at risk for Voltron - for  _you_ \- and now she's been taken and she's in pain." Matt certainly wasn't making much sense now, but there were some things he had to just let loose. "And it's your fault, and you won't even let me  _help her-"_

Matt raised his hand, ready to take another swing at the blue lion's forcefield, but he stopped himself and his hand dropped, limp, against the forcefirld again.

Matt took in a heavy breath. It was getting harder. "And we're struggling and all Shiro can do is cobble together a plan with a bunch of crazy aliens who kidnapped my  _dad._ And we're just going to hand over the only hope for the universe to the very thing that's threatening it and, and we're destined to fail, especially without the blue lion." Matt pulled himself to his feet, facing the black lion, then turning to the green lion, then the yellow lion, unsure how to take out his anger. "You open for the first person who tries to help your paladin, but I can't even touch one of you when it's my  _sister!_ "

Pacing back around to the blue lion, Matt stamped his foot against the dust of the docking bay. "You- you'd rather sit there than save your paladin. Allura is hurting. Lance is hurting. Pidge- Katie is hurting! They're all being literally  _tortured_ and all you can do is sit there instead of  _helping us!"_

And there was still no response.

"I know. It's got to be a connection. And the yellow lion had connections. And there's some special Altean space explanation or whatever. I don't want glory. I don't want power. I don't want anything and I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't Katie." Matt balled his hands into fists. "I just... I guess I'm not meant to be your paladin."

Matt leaned against the forcefield, his legs slipping down until he was back, sitting where he started. "I'm not meant to be your paladin." He repeated, eyes closing. "And I'll help Katie some other way. It'll be okay. It will work out. Sure. I give in."

Silence. No response, as per the usual.

But then, the forcefield that was holding Matt up dropped out from behind him. On his back, Matt looked up to see the blue lion looking down at him, glowing brightly as they had with any other paladin.


	8. The Lost Paladins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro, now with his 4 new paladins of Voltron and allies old and new, take off to save his former team.

It took a bit of explaining, but soon Matt was in the blue lion, trying out his controls. He'd seen Pidge do this a million times, but Shiro could tell things were unsteady. Still, he was trying his hardest, and it was the greatest stroke of luck they'd have in terms of their rescue mission.

Shiro had a team. Romelle, who, with the help of Coran, was figuring out how to control her lion and was raring to go save Allura and the other paladins. Shay, who was still a little lost (apparently Matt hadn't explained that all 5 paladins had gone missing, and she'd had a bit of a panic at the disappearance of the universe's only hope) but putting everything into figuring out how to fly the yellow lion and saving the person who saved her and her people so long ago. Ezor, supported by Zethrid and Acxa, who seemed to have a pretty natural bond with the green lion and suffered few effects from the damage done. And Matt, joined oddly by Krolia, firguring out how to fly a Voltron lion and save his sister just minutes before they were set to take off.

And himself. Shiro headed out to the black lion and climbed into its mouth, only to remember that he'd barely flown the lion since Keith had taken over. Would he still be able to lead the group, to fly the lion at all? That was a good question. He'd been part of the lion for a long time, thrown into a clone body, lost his team, trained a new one, dealt with way too much stress than he was ready for, and now he had to be strong for his team.

The galran generals were ready. There was a small fleet of rebel forces set to follow them from afar if things took a turn for the worse. His team was here. The original paladins... well, who knew what he'd find when he got there.

"Shiro?"

Shay. She was wringing her hands, seemingly nervous to approach him. The yellow lion had landed nearby without Shiro even noticing - he was too busy camped out on the mouth of the black lion, lost in thought. Matt and the blue lion, Ezor and the green lion, and Romelle and the red lion were still flying around, attempting formation. But Shay had stepped out of practice.

"Shay, you should get back in your lion." Shiro said, but he was grateful for a reason to step back out of the black lion. "We only have so much time before the mission-"

"That is the thing." Shay cut him off. Shiro doubted she'd ever done that in her life, since she cringed right after she did it. "I know that the blue-colored paladin is desperate to save his sister, and that the green-colored paladin is purely excited to see what will happen, and that the red-colored paladin is plenty confident in Voltron, but... I am not sure that I am ready."

Shiro hesitated. Clearly, there was a lot more on her mind than 'I am not ready.' "Is it your lion?"

"No!" Shay jumped forward a little. "No, the yellow-colored lion is truly amazing. It is almost calming to be in there, it radiates this... gentleness. I can understand how Hunk came to love it. And he, he did... he did so much for me, you see."

Shiro's eyes darted aside, to Matt landing almost perfectly nearby, then jumping right back into the air. "I'm not sure I understand, Shay."

"The Balmerans are a peaceful people." Shay explained, almost ashamed by her words. "When the galra attacked us, we were never going to be able to fight them off. Hunk saved us, and our Balmera. We are forever greatful to him and to Voltron for that. But not just that. Hunk instilled a hope in me. He gave me the strength to help lead my people. But now, I am meant to be not only a leader, but a warrior. I do not know if I can do that. I have never hurt anyone."

"Shay, I'm never going to force you to do anything you don't want to do." Shiro reassured her. "If you need to step down, it's okay."

Shay seemed to consider this, which utterly terrified Shiro, but then she shook her head. "No. The yellow-colored lion chose me, that I know. I just wish there was a way to be in Voltron, and still cause no harm. It is the way of my people."

"How about this." Shiro suggested. "The yellow lion is the leg, the support, rarely the fighting hand of Voltron. I would never make you change the ways of your people - that's your choice and your choice alone. But if it comes to a battle, I swear to you with every fiber of my being that you won't hurt anyone."

Shay's eyes welled up, and she nodded vigorously, pressing her hands over her heart. Before Shiro could say anything more, she'd taken off back to the yellow lion and soon joined the others in the sky. Shiro sighed, smiled up at his new team of paladins, and turned back to the black lion.

Its eyes seemed to be judging him, pushing him away. Every part of him, even the limp hunk of metal on his arm that Pidge had never finished, was telling him not to climb in, not to touch the controls, not to fly that lion. It was almost repulsive to think about. So Shiro entered the lion, he grabbed a lever with his functional hand, and soon he was taking off into the sky.

~

The plan was cobbled together, hastily made, and had little to no skeptics to point out anything wrong with it (this was because Matt wasn't allowed in during the 20 minute planning stage). It was as follows: find out what happened to the paladins, rescue said paladins, take down Haggar with a secret attack from Lotor's generals, and use Voltron in the face of any warfare from the Galra ships that were almost certain to attack them. That was it. That was all of their plan. Clearly, every ounce of Shiro's impulse control had already been captured by Haggar. But it was something.

However, they faced no opposing force as they flew in, not in the lions, but carrying them on a separate rebel cargo ship (tailed from afar by several rebel cruisers). Acxa, Ezor, and Zethrid were "secured," and Krolia, Romelle, Matt, and Shay were disguised in rebel fighting uniforms. To Haggar and any of her allies, it would look like Shiro and Coran came without any other potential paladins, especially since the paladin uniforms besides Shiro's had disappeared with their wearers. Hopefully, Haggar wouldn't catch onto their new team, nor would she want to capture the others in the spot. That plan was entirely Krolia's last minute change.

Their landing space was directed by the only ship to greet them in the sky, a grimy little cruiser that Shiro could tell was piloted by a drone, not an actual galran soldier. He could only guess why. Was this to hide what kind of backup Haggar had? Was she alone in capturing the lions? He'd surely find out soon enough.

The lions were unloaded into a wide-open landing space, and Krolia stayed behind with the five robotic beasts and their ship. With all three of his company holding Lotor's generals, Shiro and Coran led the pack into the huge doorway that had creaked open with their landing, leading into a dark hallway. Shiro could practically feel the fear and nervousness radiating off his team - or maybe that was just his own senses going haywire.

The dark hallway had plenty of branching pathways, but the clear way to go was the light of what must have been a throne room, large and almost entirely emptied. Mechanical light filled the gaping room, unnaturally bright and artificial, but even that couldn't do much for the dim, shadowed room. In fact, the only thing that was totally visible and completely unavoidable was the throne itself, where Haggar the witch was sitting, stiff and eerie. She seemed to be waiting for them, looking almost like a puppet with her eyes glassy and her eyes unmoving, not even seeming to be breathing. Shiro could barely make out the pupils of her eyes shifting towards them beneath her hooded cloak, looking directly at him.

Shiro stopped, putting his hand out to halt his team. Behind him, he heard the galran generals pushed to their knees. He was keeping himself near the entrance, not only for an easy escape, but to keep far, far away from the witch. Taking one more reluctant step forward, Shiro took his role as leader.

"Haggar!" He spoke, voice echoing through the room and up into the never-ending ceiling of the throne room. "I've come for my paladins."

Haggar rose from the throne, still rigid, her eyes leaving Shiro for a mere second to examine the imprisoned generals before returning to him. A hint of a smirk twitched onto her face. "You bring my prizes, champion?" She asked, her hiss sounding almost pained.

"The Voltron lions are outside. One of my soldiers is watching over it." Shiro stated, making sure to be as clear as possible. He had to put a lot of effort to keep his voice calm and collected and most of all, brave. "The former generals of Prince Lotor are also in our possession after an attack on our base. They will both be yours when I am returned the paladins of Voltron."

"Did you bring your new paladins as well, champion?" She asked, the glee in her words still clear through her hoarseness.

Shiro was taken aback, and he could hear a muffled squeak from Shay behind him. "What... what do you mean?"

Haggar chuckled, so breathy and soft that he almost couldn't hear it. "I want to collect all my prizes, my dear champion. The paladins of Voltron, the lions of Voltron, these puny generals, your shambled team, and especially my precious champion. You think I do not know of the lion's new pilots? I know  _everything._ Thank you for bringing all of these things to me."

"I intend to honor our deal." Shiro said sharply, his hand clenching into a fist. "The deal was not for myself or my team. And I expect the paladins of Voltron in return-"

"I can't rebuild the Galra nation with only three of my personal team, especially when the three you're leaving me with can't pilot lions and are so worthless that they can't even keep my son from blowing himself into oblivion." Haggar crooned. "I need the whole set. And I intend to get the whole set. Besides, I've put so much work into you already, champion. I will not let that go to waste."

Behind him, Shiro could hear Coran's heavy breathing. There had to be something Shiro could do. "Haggar, I have no intention to help you with your efforts with the Galra nation. I am purely here to honor my bargain and get what was promised."

"You want to see them?" Haggar asked mockingly, her left hand raising as if pulled by a string. "Champion, I know you better than anyone else and you must know a great deal about me at this point as well. I get what I want. If I want to be the ruler of the Galra empire, I can bend some rules. If I want to return all the scum that has left our glorious regime, I will do that as well. And if I want the paladins of Voltron, old and new, at my beck and call as my elite soldiers, I will get that too. I have your little team. How about you join them?"

Behind her, formerly shrouded by darkness, five figures came into view. One tall and bulky, one lanky and thin, one muscular and pale-haired, one petite and wearing circular glasses, and one with a mullet and a galran mark on his face. They were wearing their paladin armor, eyes glowing, several body parts and chunks of flesh replaced with metal and machinery, and bodies looking broken with possession by the witch being the only thing holding them up. The paladins of Voltron surrounded Haggar, putting themselves between the witch and Shiro.

"Hand yourself in now, champion!" Haggar's voice rose to a yell. "Or face my wrath. I give you five seconds!"

_"Five!"_

Behind them, Shiro heard a slam. The door, the exit, had closed.

_"Four!"_

"What do we do?" Romelle asked desperately, dropping her grip on Ezor.

_"Three!"_

Matt released Acxa as well, his eyes fixed on his sister. "Shiro, you'd better have a plan-"

_"Two!"_

Behind them, Shiro could hear Krolia hitting the door and screaming. The three generals of Lotor stood, slipping easily out of their bonds, giving them backup that Haggar must have not expected. But she didn't even noticed.

_"One!"_

"Never!" Shiro yelled back. "Team, scatter!"

Haggar grinned, as if she preferred the hard way. "My paladins... _strike!_ "

The lights went out, throwing the entire building into darkness. The team seperated, taking off into the unknown, and Haggar's five new playthings began their attack.


	9. One on One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the group scattered and disarray, Ezor is left to face one of the team's new foes on her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So season 7 happened... they clearly took this all in a different direction than I did. Reminder that nothing occurring after season 6 is canon in my version! (But personally I was a fan of basically all of season 7).

With the lights off, nobody knew who was with who - except, clearly, the possessed paladins, who seemed to be targeting specific people. But, of course, as Ezor took off without the company of either of her former generals, she soon could hear the person following her start to hide their footsteps and begin a different approach that she couldn't quite read in the darkness.

This was a problem. There was no reaching the lion and no way of seeing her foe, much less finding out which foe she was facing as to choose the correct approach. Was it the huge one who could easily crush her, the leader with the wickedly sharp sword, the brainiac whose lion she was borrowing for the time being?

Ezor stopped running and scanned her surroundings. All dark, no lights yet. But Ezor knew that those paladin's bayards glowed when activated. She had to use that to her advantage.

Ezor stepped backwards, backwards, backwards, back until her hands brushed the wall and she knew she had something behind her. Now there was only one direction that her foe could come from. Her foe had stopped moving much too, or at least wasn't making enough noise for her to pick up on. There was no way of knowing if the thing chasing her could see through the dark, but just in case, Ezor clenched her fists and felt herself disappear. She couldn't see the wall enough to fully change to that color, so for the time being she was the color of the darkness. Which would be a stupid way to cloak herself if anyone were to shine a light on her, but it would work for now. She moved to the right several steps to change her position. Now she and her foe were both in the dark... figuratively and literally.

So now the question was, what choice of action should she take? Clearly her enemy was choosing stealth, which didn't narrow down much, but was it a ranged attack, a sneak attack, or leading her into a trap? Who even was her enemy? Would she be able to make it on her own?

Ezor heard something move to her right, far away. It was short, not like walking. Were they getting into position? Were they crawling?

This was torture. She just wanted to attack - to use her catlike reflexes and speed and camouflage to take out this lowlife personally. But she was trapped in the exact position where that couldn't work. She had to figure out a full plan. No jumping in, just doing. That was supposedly why the green lion had chosen her, for her intuition and curiosity and intelligence. So how to use it...

Whoever was attacking took their attack. Their bayard glowed, clearly in weapon form, and fired at the space where she'd been standing before Ezor had disappeared. Clearly, the attacker could see her in the dark, but not in her camouflage. She couldn't see who they were, but they'd taken a spot on a ledge high on the hallway and were firing at her. This wasn't the black paladin, with his sword, but the others had guns and whips that could hit like that attack. That was her first clue. That, and the location of her attacker. Now to actually get there...

Ezor, feet sliding forward instead of stepping to muffle her footsteps, made her way to the other side of the wall. There, she was directly underneath her foe, and nearly out of firing range.

The attacker, who'd paused as if to concider where she might move, fired again, now where she'd moved to after her disappearance. Lucky guess, or did this attacker have more ways of finding her? She had to strike now.

Ezor jumped and grabbed hold of the ledge, silent and swift.

Now she was dangling, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she could make out the outline of the ledge before her. It looked like somewhere a general might command soldiers, or a viewing platform for some pompous leader. A perfect position for long-range attack. That ruled out the blue paladin, whose whip was best for short-range attacks anyways. This was all too clear now.

The attacker was moving above, readjusting to get a better view. Ezor couldn't tell if her foe was questioning her disappearance, or if this enemy knew about her chameleon-like abilities and was looking for her to reveal herself. Maybe it would be better for her to disappear. Was that the smarter plan? Was that what the green lion would have her do?

And then they turned on a light, scanning the wall where she'd once been. Ezor, panicked, pulled up her legs to her chest. This movement made just enough noise for her attacker to jolt their head down, craning for her. If she hadn't been dangling right below this attacker... they'd have caught her easily and had a clear shot.

Now was the time. They expected her on the ground. This stupid evil paladin wanted to pull a sneak attack, she'd pull one right back.

Ezor took her second, dangling hand and grabbed the ledge with that hand as well. She had to be secure. Pulling herself up lightning fast, Ezor lept over the low railing around the ledge and landed, one hand securing her landing on the ground. Her attacker turned their light on her, and she finally knew her plan.

The red paladin. Of course, he was the sniper. Brown hair flopping forward, just a little too long, almost covering the cybernetic attachment to the side of his head and over one eye. He also had what looked like a robotic hand, much like the champion's - Shiro's old enhancement. That explained the night vision. His blue armor couldn't hide his lank - nor his muscle he'd been building. Just her luck she'd be dealing with someone bulkier than her, but he wasn't usually a frontward fighter. She'd done enough examination of Voltron's battles to know that this one was a long range fighter and wearing the complete wrong color for his title. What was his name? Someone must have mentioned it at some point. He was the pompous one, the showoff, the one who'd been the "ladies man" in that show they'd had. The one who - that was it. Romelle had called him kind. Lance.

Now he was out of his element, fighting up close, but he fired up his bayard and shot at her. She dove aside to avoid him, reached out her hand to grab one of his arms, and swung him off the balcony. Now his bayard was glowing without stop, providing enough light for her to see him... and the wall.

Ezor smiled and disappeared, blending purple into the walls.

Why did the galra make everything purple? She didn't make everything orange. Was it aesthetic? Did they not have any other color building material?

Lance was firing, trying to hit her and send her back into visibility. As if. Right now he was predictable and out in the open, and she could avoid his attacks easily-

And then she got too cocky. As she landed on the ground, her shoes tapped against the metal floor and Lance clipped her with a shot on her arm, throwing her back and completely into visibility. Then, while she was off guard, his sniper gun flashed and turned into a sword.

"Hand to hand, eh?" Ezor grunted, hand on her side. He hadn't been able to get through her armor, but that hurt. "Seems unfair if I have no weapon."

Lance was silent.

"Yeah, I know, that's the point." Ezor sighed. "Let's go, loverboy."

He swung at her, and Ezor already knew his plan from that one swing. He was wielding a broadsword, which was heavy enough to keep him from landing a blow on her speed, but with her damaged from the hit to the side she'd be slow enough that if he attacked with enough strength, he'd be able to knock her down. Wildly different from the sniper she'd just seen. Diving out of the way of the sword's wide slash, she watched him step forward and raised his arms for another hit. She couldn't struggle away from him forever or he'd hand a hit on her.

Ezor took ahold of her helmet and threw it off behind her, leaving it to crash into him. Sure, it didn't do damage, but it slowed his swing long enough for her to throw the long appendage on her head back and have it wrap around one of his arms, leaving them attached.

Of course, this just left her read to be hit with the sword, but Ezor was faster than Lance gave her credit for. She forced herself to her feet, leaving his arm to swing up with her and throw his bayard. It dematerialized out of sword form the second it left his grasp and clattered into the darkness.

And there went their light source. Lance could probably see her in the darkness, but right now Ezor had the upper hand and wasn't willing to let it go. She swung herself around Lance and wrapper her legs around his torso, pulling his arm painfully behind his back as she went. From there, Ezor grabbed his helmet, trying to get to it off his head. There had to be something in that attachment on his head that could snap him out of all this, or at least weaken him or his night vision.

But now she was in his reach, and that closeness was working to his advantage. Sure, Ezor was tall, but she was built sleek while Lance was built lanky. His other arm was the one thing she didn't have ahold of, so as soon as Ezor got off his helmet, Lance has a dangerously sharp of her and was trying to wrench her legs off him. Clearly, wielding the broadsword gave him just the bulk she didn't have. And then he did something Ezor was hoping he wouldn't realize was possible - he got ahold of her head and used the appendage wrapped around his arm to swing her off him.

And there went her upper hand. Ezor still had lassoed Lance's arm, but other than that she was now caught by one arm and her feet didn't have anything to steady them. And her grip on Lance's arm was now more of another way to trap her than anything. Lance was strong enough that he could keep her above the ground, so that she was totally unstable and off her feet. With one arm still wrapped up and one arm hoisting her by her arm, he used her instability to send her crashing to the ground several feet away, unraveling his arm in the process.

No, no, no, she was blind. Without having hold of Lance, she was totally in the dark while he could probably see her clearly. She threw her hands up defensively, trying to see in the pitch darkness, and then she realized - she could just-

Just as Lance was about to grab her, she vanished into the darkness and rolled away, leaving him unable to spot her again. She could hear him fumbling backwards, headed towards his bayard, and she flung herself at the sound of him, grabbing wildly for his arm.

_Thump._

One of them had the upper hand. One of them knocked the other out cold. One of them was victorious. 


End file.
